Get Cooking with Kids - and Enter to Win $100!!

I remember when I was a kid and my mom would make homemade, from scratch, ravioli. It was one of my favorites, and I've made it with my kids - but there's only so much time in the day, and lately - the homemade ravioli hasn't happened. I'm still making the sauce - especially since I still have tomatoes in the garden, whipping up a fresh sauce is super easy - but I've skipped the homemade pastas.

My kids are pretty adventurous eaters. They are great fruit and veg eaters, a bit less on the out of the typical meats - but good eaters overall. When the opportunity came to try Monterey Foods new offerings, and have a "cook with the kids" night - we were all in. I've often discovered that by having them cook with me, the kids are more apt to try new foods, even foods that aren't typical "kid fare" - like, say, steamed dumplings or spinach pasta. We try to focus on healthy, natural meals - but keep it fun for everyone.

We were sent a selection of gourmet pastas to try - missing from this picture is the four cheese variety (my oldest boy commandeered it immediately upon unpacking the box and ate the entire thing in one sitting. I'll have to take his word for it that it was yummy.)

The kids picked out a variety and we got busy.

She takes her cooking responsibilities very seriously, yo.

One thing that I really appreciate about Monterey Foods is their all natural philosophy - with fresh foods, there's no need for additives or preservatives, things with long, chemical names that I can not pronounce - just yummy, healthy foods. They meet my super insanely high standards of flavorful, natural and high quality ingredients. In fact, Monterey Gourmet Foods takes great pride in their products, as dictated by their own, “Generally Natural Principles.” They offer a wide variety of products, which all have distinct flavors and are perfect for a family on the go – especially a family whose mother has super high standards.

We boiled up the ravioli and pan fried the dumplings and served them in a smorgasbord type style - but everyone had to try one of everything.

SOMEONE wasn't thrilled to try spinach - even though her brothers and sisters promised that it was really yummy - and we let her put extra cheese on top.

Once she tried it, though, she was a fan - and ate four more.

Not pictured - the salad and apple slices. Please to note the incredibly stylish Mason Jar of Chocolate milk.

The pastas and dumplings were delicious, cooked quickly and left us pleasantly full and satisfied. We ate all three packages, leaving no leftovers for my poor, overworked husband - but having satisfied kids who weren't existing on chicken nuggets was an awesome feeling. And, as a bonus - the people who cook have to clean up, so I had lots of full tummies washing the dirty dishes.

For more recipes and offers, visit Monterey Gourmet Foods on Facebook or follow them on their website. "At Monterey Gourmet Foods we bring the world to your table. Try our internationally inspired pasta dishes."

For a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift card, leave a comment telling me what side dish or sauce you would serve alongside your Monterey Gourmet Foods Discovery Dish?

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

mmmmmmmmm pierogies, having married into the Polish part of my hubbie's family Pierogies are yummy! fried in bacon and onions lightly. Also nice with a sprinkling of Chipolte chili powder. I do not think we have Monterey here in Canada.

I want the potato/cheese peirogis so badly!! They look delish! My lovely dumplings would be served with butter, onion, & cheese (maybe a little sour cream) to remind me of my travels to Ukraine. I would have a salad on the side.

Wow!

Support My New Shoe Fund!

Help Buy Me A Coffee

About Me

Carmen Staicer is a whirlwind of energy and execution, who never sleeps and drinks way too much coffee. She works from home as Social Media Programs Manager for SheKnows, and is the mom to six kids, most of whom play instruments, sing or dance and all of whom are much smarter than she will ever be. In other words, her house is never ever quiet or still. A concentration of asthma, food allergies, spectrum disorders and learning disabilities means that she spends an awful lot of time second guessing herself and Dr. Googling, as well as learning to cook everything the family might like to eat. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, boxing (she has her Black Belt in Muay Thai), sleeping, exploring coffee shops, photography, ballet class and cooking. She excels in being a smart mouth and has her major in sarcasm, with a dual minor in BS studies and avoiding laundry.